The present disclosure generally relates to semiconductor devices, and more particularly to non-volatile memory devices employing semiconductor nanoparticles, semiconductor substrates including embedded semiconductor nanoparticles within a buried insulator layer, and methods of manufacturing the same.
Non-volatile memory devices require an information storage element for storing information, for example, in states having, or not having, stored electrical charges. For example, a flash memory device requires a floating gate and a tunneling dielectric. Such information storage elements are typically formed above the top surface of a semiconductor substrate. For example, the floating gate and the tunneling dielectric of a flash memory device are formed above the top surface of a semiconductor substrate. A control electrode and a control gate are formed above the stack of the tunneling dielectric and the floating gate in the flash memory device.
The presence of the information storage element as an additional component for a non-volatile memory device causes the integration of non-volatile memory devices with logic devices to be difficult. For example, a gate stack including a tunneling dielectric, a floating gate, a control gate dielectric, and a control gate electrode for a non-volatile memory device has a different gate height than a gate stack including a gate dielectric and a gate electrode for a logic device. Thus, the requirement for formation of the information storage element in non-volatile memory devices not only causes use of additional processing steps to form the information storage element, but the presence of the information storage element also interferes with subsequent processing steps for formation of logic devices, for example, through increased height variations of structures on a semiconductor substrate.